Service Learning at Springside Elementary

    My journey into service learning is taking place at Springside Elementary. Is a beautiful new school, it was just built in 2016. It is nestled in the center of a quickly growing new housing development, called Legacy Farms, in Saratoga Springs. It is a quickly growing school due to all of the new homes being built around it and the families with children moving in. There are approximately 1,055 students, and 40 incredible teachers at Springside Elementary. This is also the school where my children attend school, and I couldn't be happier about it! 

    For my service learning, I will be working with students in both 5th grade and 2nd grade. In trying to decide which grade levels I would like to teach in the future, I felt it best to get a mix of opportunities and experiences during my service learning time. Each of these classes are filled with amazing students who are a pleasure to work with. The older 5th grade class is where I will have opportunities to assist the students during their math time. I will be walking around the room addressing questions and helping individual students understand the various new math techniques they will be learning. For the 2nd grade service learning I will have an opportunity to work with students individually, in small groups and as a whole class as they work on various reading and mathematics activities. 

   Service learning is a valuable opportunity for University students who are interested in pursuing a degree in Elementary Education. During this service learning, I will be required to complete 20 hrs of service in a classroom setting. This can be doing a variety of different activities, but it is mainly to give students like me, an opportunity to see what life is like inside a classroom. In doing this, I will have the opportunity to learn and gauge for myself if this is where I belong, and the major I wish to peruse. I will also get to interact with these students and perhaps figure out what age students I might feel most comfortable teaching in the future.